Training Archive: Swampfox

Note

"They're all different...and they're all goooood."

--the Reverend Willie G.

The good reverend wasn't talking about orienteering compasses or headlights, and while he might have been talking about women, in fact he was talking about guitars. Is it February 14 already? Mercy!

Note

I can't quite decide which is my favorite quote from the first day of competition at the Olympics.

This wasn't bad, considering Canada won an exceptionally close contest against Slovakia 18-0: "I thought the Slovakians played us really, really well,'' from Canadian Women's ice hockey coach Melody Davidson. Yes, not just well, but really, really well!

But then there was this, too, from Johnny Weir: "All these crazy fur people," which was at once succinct and artfully elegant in the face of alleged serious threats and such from the likes of, well, crazy fur people.

C • quotes 4

skiing 1:49:00 [2]

It was cold despite full sunshine, and about 4" of new snow had fallen overnight. Even after grooming, the trails were quite soft, and I was s-l-o-w.

run 1:12:00 [3]

Lots of fresh snow to run in. And thanks to the snowshoers that preceded me!

Yowsa!!! 1 [1]

skiing 2:35:00 [3]

Excellent conditions. Several flurries came through and left about 2" of new snow on the trails while I was skiing.

run 46:00 [3]

Note

10 1/2 hrs of sunshine!

run 43:00 [2]

skiing 2:18:00 [3]

A little new snow was on the trails, and it had arrived after today's grooming, and left the trails feeling very creamy, faster rather than slower, and with very good bite. Really nice conditions.

run 33:00 [2]

skiing 1:20:00 [3]

Fair number of skiers out, though none of the college or high school team folks, and not so many from the miscellaneous faster crowd either. Maybe they have all decamped for the new snow zone (Washington, D.C.)? I can think of no better explanation, though my limitations are too well known.

run 59:00 [3]

From an overlook I could see what appeared to be heavy snow falling over the Gangplank only a few miles to the SE, but there was not a single flake falling at Happy Jack where I was.

Note

Sunset back at 5:30 today.

Note

This is pretty much the way it would look when I was growing up and learning how to ski in the South, in the mountains of North Carolina:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/02/10/sport...

Except that this picture is of an Olympics venue up in Canada!

Where did all the snow go? Are those sunbathers in the foreground, spreading butter oils on their tanned skin???

I thought one of the prime ingredients at a Winter Olympics was lots of snow! (Hint to the organizers: there's lot of snow in Washington, D.C.; maybe they can borrow some from there.)

C • As our local political cart... 1

run 55:00 [2]

skiing 1:41:00 [2]

I was sure there was a race tonight, and therefore I was almost totally puzzled by what I was seeing. Situation normal, in other words.

run 1:01:00 [3]

run 1:00:00 [2]

Full sunshine; many antelope and even some antelope tracks.

Totally having nothing to do with this, there was a report yesterday that a wolf pack may have moved into NW Colorado, which would be pretty cool, except for any ranchers. Ranchers don't think wolves are cool.

skiing 2:18:00 [3]

Today's song of choice: "So Much For The Afterglow", inspired mostly by the way the skies looked after sunset, and lessly by anything else. This was skiing after all, and not sex.

run 37:00 [2]

Nothing like a chill Canadian wind sweeping out of the endless prairie to the north to remind that winter isn't over yet.

A light snow fell overnight, and the already white valley was looking bright white this morning with the new snow.

skiing 1:21:00 [2]

Looked like about 2" new fell overnight.

run 52:00 [3]

Chilly.